Israel Responds to Hamas Missiles

Obviously, the human shields, mosque weapons stores, and apartment weapons labs will all endanger civilian life there. However, there is evidence that the Hamas storehouses, launching sites, Hamas hideouts are all 'protected' by buildings and areas normally not morally permissable as a field of war, such as schools, mosques, apartments, hospitals, and whereever civilians congregate.

Under the title "Second Stage of Operation Cast Lead Begins", the Israeli army describes the beginning of the ground attack against the Hamas terrorists.

On Saturday evening (Jan.3), IDF forces began implementing the second stage of Operation Cast Lead. Ground forces have begun to maneuver within the Gaza Strip.

The objective of this phase of the operation is to intensify the heavy blow already dealt to Hamas and to take control of area from where most of the rocket attacks against Israel originate, in order to reduce those rocket attacks," says the IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier General Avi Benayahu.

A large number of IDF forces are taking part in this stage of the operation including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery and intelligence, along with the support of the Israel Air Force, Israel Navy, Israel Security Agency and other security agencies.

The IDF and the Home Front Command has taken the necessary steps to protect the civilian population. All residents of Southern Israel are requested to follow the guidelines of the Home Front Command as communicated via the media.

The IDF Spokesperson wishes to reiterate that the residents of Gaza are not the target
of the operation. Those who use civilians, the elderly, women and children as human
shields are responsible for any and all injuries to the civilian population. Anyone who
hides a terrorist or weapons in his house is considered a terrorist. [emphasis added]
    

Israeli citizens are aware that a high price may be paid to bring security to the families who have been suffering bombardment, to bring justice for those who have been injured and to comfort the families of those who have been killed by Hamas missiles.

All Israel continues to pray for the safe return of Gilad Shalit. It is of course possible that Hamas has already exacted its revenge upon him. While there has been no success in negotiating his release, Hamas attacks on Israel have continued to grow more deadly. Allowing dangerous missile fire on civilians did not bring about his release either.

We continue to hear calls for international monitors; the multinational troops have obviously been very successful in disarming Hizbollah in Lebanon!!! [not!]  Israel cannot trust others with her security. It's been proven many times over.  We will be fortunate if our guess proves to be correct that Hizbollah will not want to become directly involved by attacking Israel.  While Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab leaders will publicly decry Israel's response to Hamas, they are privately very pleased, since Hamas (like Al Queda) is feeding a growing internal political threat to them.

Several thousand Israeli Arabs (citizens of Israel), with support from foreign activists and Jewish leftists, have been protesting Israel's attack on Gaza, frequently with rock throwing and rioting.  Since they didn't bother to demonstrate against Hamas for firing missiles at Israeli civilians, perhaps they would prefer Gaza citizenship in exchange for their Israeli identity card. Perhaps they would prefer trying to make a living and to raise their families on the other side.  

It is also obvious that Hamas has deliberately provoked Israel to attack hoping to bring world sympathy and overt help from the Arab nations, if for no other reason than to quiet the riots in their own streets. A victorious Hamas would be heroes to the Arab street.

Hopefully, Hamas has over-estimated the practical support they will receive from abroad.  With God's help, the destruction they have planned for Israel will be theirs instead!

MIRACLES

Thank God, Israel has witnessed a number of occasions where people have escaped injury in nothing less than miraculous circumstances. In Netivot, a wooden home was completely demolished by a missile. A woman who hadn't had enough time to flee was helped out of the collapsed building by her husband. She had only minor injuries to her leg.

In another instance, a man didn't reach cover soon enough. He  had taken time to assist a woman needing help.  As he ran toward a bomb shelter, a missile hit about 8 meters behind him, exploding and sending shrapnel in all directions. The man was knocked flat, but got up uninjured! 

In another instance a bomb shelter suffered a direct hit, but withstood the blast and only two people had to be treated for shock.

Any other county being targeted by thousands of missiles would have suffered many more casualties than Israel has.  This mercy has covered Israel frequently during war.  We attribute this to a measure of divine protection. Perhaps it should be a warning to an enemy planning to destroy Israel.

Israeli medics take Gaza victim for medical care in Israel.
Even as they called up thousands of reservists in preparation for the  ground incursion, Israel allowed up  to 300 Palestinian holders of foreign  passports to escape the Gaza Strip on Friday. Israeli hospitals have been treating 10's of evacuated  injured Gaza civilians, as well. [source: IDF spokesperson]

Col. Moshe Levi,

rejecting claims of a humanitarian crisis, told the The Jerusalem Post that since last Sunday more than 330 trucks carrying food, medicine and medical supplies had been allowed into the Gaza Strip, despite the constant Gazan rocket barrages on the South, along with ambulances and at least 2000 units of blood. 

He stressed that Hamas was using civilian infrastructure - including hospitals, mosques and areas next to offices of international aid groups - to conduct terrorist activity and to fire rockets at Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to be confronted by hostile media from western as well as Arab countries. Haaretz online reported that

Police were searching for a foreign reporter working for an Iranian TV network who reported the IDF incursion into Gaza before the military authorized the release of the information to the public.

Also Saturday evening, a reporter for the Lebanese LBC network who was broadcasting near the Gaza Strip said the IDF was moving from Nahal Oz towards the Nezarim junction.

The  anchor reportedly stood in a vantage point overlooking the IDF staging grounds and reported military maneuvers.

Link to YouTube Israel Defense Forces videos:  http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk

Link to Israel Defense Forces blog (official spokesman reports) http://idfspokesperson.com/

While world leaders publicly wring their collective hands and schedule UN Security Council meetings, they are all aware that Iran is guilty of providing the longer range missiles and funding. Iran is pulling many of the strings, using Hamas as they use Hizbollah, to fight proxy wars against Israel.  The strongly one-sided proposal to be presented to the Security Council by Libya is likely to be blocked by the US as completely one-sided.  It will be interesting to see if Obama will support Israel to the same extent that President Bush is.

Meanwhile, a few hours into the ground incursion, some 10's of Hamas gunmen have been killed and Hamas remains defiant.  Sharon should have conducted such a raid instead of removing long-standing Jewish communities there.